


The bridging pasts

by Amanecer



Category: Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 10:12:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11689503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amanecer/pseuds/Amanecer
Summary: When the Lone Wanderer is carted across the wastelands she meets some unexpected help. The Courier is fed up with the western Brotherhood Of Steel chapter, but doesn't want to blow them up. The Sole Survivor is angry with her Boyfriend.





	The bridging pasts

“Ella!” Sarah yelled trying desperately to get to her wife across the body strewn battlefield.   
‘“Sarah, no!” Ingram called at her commanding officer from where she lay crumpled on the ground, “It’s too late.” Sarah whirled blonde hair flying loose from its bun. “She’s gone Sarah, we both saw it.” She coughed blood speckling her chin and torn jumpsuit.   
“Ingram, I…” Sarah trailed off staring hollowly to where the Brotherhood of Steel's most hated enemy, The Enclave, were carting off the body of her best friend and wife, Ella Lyons.   
“Sentinel Lyons, snap out of it you need to get a hold of yourself. You have men you need to see home and dead to be buried.”Ingram barked drawing the other womans attention. Sarah nodded setting her jaw getting to her feet pulling Ingram up supporting the injured womans weight as her legs crumpled beneath her.   
“Paladin Vargas assemble the remains of the Lyons Pride the most injured get priority in getting back to the Citadel.” She ordered beginning to carry Ingram back to the waiting Vertibird.  
“Yes, ma’am,” her second in command snapped a quick salute getting to work organizing the remaining men.   
As the Vertibird lifted off Sarah looked out over the wasteland that was once, a hundred years ago the capital of the United States, feeling a familiar sense of grief and loneliness sweep over her once more as she said a final farewell to her beloved Ella. 

 

Ella woke slowly, falling in and out of lucidity her head pounding, scattering her already fragmented thoughts. I’m alive? she thought bewildered, the last thing she remembered was the cool steel of a gun pressed to the back of her head then darkness. Oh god, Sarah, what happened, where am I? Cautiously she blinked open her eyes,squinting against harsh sunlight.   
She was in some kind of moving cage, A slave transporter. she thought bitterly as the world around her came into focus. All around her was an empty wasteland, the cart seemed to be passing through one of the outer areas of the capital waste, crumbling bombed out houses lay in ruin, remnants of a time long ago. In front of her was a man sitting in the wagon front guiding the Brahmin that pulled them along. He wore old faded, worn travelers clothes his hair coming in thin greasy tufts, showing signs of him being exposed to radiation.  
“Well, well, look who's finally awake.” His voice was like someone gargling a mixture of acid and rocks, unappealing and grating on Ella's headache  
“Where are you taking me?” She quelled her fear speaking evenly despite her ever mounting panic.   
“I got paid a pretty penny to cart you out to the Mohave, don’t know why you're worth the hassle though, Vegas ain’t lacking when it comes to prostitutes.” The man scratched his head not turning around.   
“Mohave, as in out west?” She spoke quietly, almost to herself.  
“Where else are you going to find the biggest casinos in the entire wastes?” Ella fell silent shuffling into the back corner of her cage pulling her knees to her chest.By the steel what have I gotten into?

 

Liza crouched on a ridge, rifle sight raised to her eye watching as a small caravan made its way across the old highway. Zooming in she could see the vague outline of a human being kept in the back cage.  
“Well Rexie it looks like we’ve found a slaver, let's hope he doesn't have anymore of those kids from that settlement in the capital, Little Lamplight.” She looked to her cyborg-dog companion who wagged his tail happily chuffing softly. “You ready to go bite some bad guys boy?” She smiled motioning the dog forward as she crept down the back of the ridge circling around to intercept the caravan head on.   
“Move out of the way fool girl.” The man at the head barked motioning Liza away with his whip.  
“No, I do believe that slaveing has just been made illegal around here, and that woman back there dosen’t look like she’s there by choice.” Liza smirked as Rex began growling softly at her side drawing the man's attention, who visibly paled. The woman in the back stirred coming to the cage edge, black hair falling in lank greasy strands across her face and down her back, she looks ill and underfeed, just how long has she been traveling like this? Liza wondered as the woman looked to her with pleading blue eyes. “I’ll tell you what friend, you let this woman go and I won’t report you to the NCR and Mr. House.” The man nodded furiously eyes still on Rex who had advanced ,his growling growing louder teeth bared,   
“Sure miss, here's the key, the girl was trouble anyways.” He dug a key from the front of his tattered overalls tossing it to her as she called Rex back to her side.   
“Thank you.” The woman breathed as Liza unlocked the cage helping her out.   
“It’s no problem, the names Liza and this is Rex.” Liza smiled handing the woman purified water from her pack.   
“I’m Ella.” Ella returned the smile chugging the water as Liza lead her away from her captor.  
“How did you end up on that slave caravan?”  
“I don’t really know, one minute I had a gun pressed to my head and I’m pretty sure I got shot and the next I’m stuck with that man on a one way trip to the Mohave.” Ella shrugged walking at Liza’s side. “So where are we going?”   
“I have a place on the strip in the Lucky 38, I kinda work for the leader of the New Vegas strip, Mr.House, It’s a long story.” Liza ran a hand through her blonde cropped hair moving her bangs out of her face sweat shining on her pockmarked brow. “ I was out on a mission but I can put that on hold, Mr.House won’t mind, I needed to take a break anyways.”  
“What is your mission, If I’m allowed to know?” Ella tilted her head curiously.  
“Back a few years ago this group called the Brotherhood of Steel showed up and started trying to wrest control from the NCR, the New Californian Republic, going on about how they were unfit to try to unite the Mohave and all that jazz. The NCR ended up having to fight them off and they retreated to an underground bunker. Mr.House dosen’t like the fact that they are an unaccounted variable in his plan to fix up these parts of the wastes and he sent me to either destroy or reason with them. After the welcome I received it looks like reasoning is very far off.” Liza sighed rubbing her neck where it was chaffed.   
“What did they do?” Ella blanched at the thought of the Brotherhood being so unlike the organization she had left back at home.   
“Strapped a bomb collar to my neck and had me go kill some poor NCR trooper a few bunkers over. If I didn’t do as the Elder said I would have gotten my head blown off.” Liza grumbled, then stopped noticing the look of horror on Ella's face. “What I can attest that's not the worst thing that's happened to me it was just Inconvenient.”  
“No it’s the fact that the Brotherhood would ever do something like that especially to an emissary, It’s against the doctrine.” Her voice grew more frantic as she spoke her hands gesturing wildly.   
“You're familiar with Brotherhood doctrine?”   
“I’m Sentinel Ella Lyon's wife of Sentinel Sarah Lyons Daughter in law to High Elder Lyons. The Brotherhood doctrine is part of my life.” Liza blinked at Ella's sudden speech, finally noticing the insignia on the torn jumpsuit she wore. A sword emblazoned over a gear with flames in the background on one shoulder, a single diamond with an offshoot of flames on the other, the rest of the insignias torn beyond recognition.   
“I’ve heard of you, you're that Vault Dweller they call the Lone Wanderer, you helped the Capital Wastelands water problem and fought off the Enclave. What happened to you?” Ella blushed at the praise rubbing the back of her neck.   
“The Enclave massed a final attack with the remnants of their forces, we beat them back but I ended up being held at gunpoint and then shot but I somehow lived without a bullet wound to account for and woke up being carted here.” They started walking again the lights of the Vegas strip a few miles away.   
“Thats horrible but maybe you can help me with this Brotherhood chapter?” Liza sounded hopeful.  
“It’s the least I can do after you saved me.” Ella smiled as they continued their journey in silence. 

 

Ella gazed in awe taking in the large rooms of the Lucky 38, the biggest casino on the strip. It had taken them half a day to walk into Vegas, avoiding the bigger groups of raiders and rad-scorpions, massive irradiated scorpions the size of a large dog, that roamed the area past the highway and the Strip.  
The entire presidential floor was Liza’s, to do with as she pleased, the largest bedroom was hers, she let Ella have her pick of the five smaller rooms. Which by Ella's standards were huge compared to the tiny rooms that made up the personal quarters of the Citadel, the remains of the old US military base, the Pentagon. Her room was decorated lavishly in red , the walls a deep maroon and the carpet was a black and red checkered diamond pattern. She collapsed with a sigh onto the large bed burying her face into the cream colored sheets. Liza had shown her the bathroom first after introducing her to Tiny Turret Tim, the little turret that could, that guarded the entrance to the Lucky 38, lending her some of her old clothes to wear after she got cleaned up. In the months that she had been carted across the wasteland her hair had grown longer the dark locks falling down to the small of her back, she really needed to find something to tie it up with. As sleep began to take her Ella’s mind wandered to thoughts of Sarah. She must think i’m dead and Elder Lyons he could barely stand it when we were in a coma, his health declined so rapidly in the two weeks I was asleep and he only started getting better once Sarah had woken up. I just hope that my death hasn’t hurt him too much, and little Arthur by the steel hasn't that child lost enough, first his parents and now me. I have to get home soon, if only to keep my family afloat.

 

It had been five weeks since Liza had rescued Ella from the slavers, the duo had spent that time planing on how to deal with the western Brotherhood of Steel, they had finally settled on just repairing Ellas jumpsuit and letting her march into the bunker and deal with them. It had originally started as a joke that had Liza laughing for ten minutes straight as Ella actually considered it.   
“So we really are doing this?” Liza asked from Ella's side as she strode past some very startled outer guards looking like she belonged.   
“We can't really back out now can we.”Ella counted as they rounded to the corner to the Elders sanctum. Elder McNamara looked up from his terminal, startled as the two barged into the room Liza hanging back as Ella stalked forward.  
“Who,” Ella cut him off.  
“My name is Sentinal Ella Lyons, and I have heard some pretty nasty things about you Elder.” She advanced on the sitting man who grew pale. ‘Putting a bomb collar on a civilian, trying to overthrow an uncorrupt governing system,terrorizing the people of this land instead of helping, lying in your reports to the Citadel. What do you have to say for yourself?” Ella towered over the sitting man who gulped loudly sweat beading on his forehead as she pointed a finger into his chest.   
“I,I did what I thought was best,” He stammered   
“Exactly, you acted alone instead of asking your brothers and sisters for help, your actions could have cost thousands of lives, their blood would have been on your hands. As I see it you are unfit to lead and I am invoking my right as Sentinel to demote you back down to Knight rank, you are dismissed.” She barked   
“Yes Ma’am” He scuttled away head bowed.  
“And here I thought you were a demure little thing.” Liza whistled watching the previously pompous jerk flee tail between his legs.  
“You’ve never seen me angry.”  
“Then what do you call that?” Liza raised an eyebrow.  
“Putting an idiot in his place.” Ella smirked.  
“So what comes next?”  
“I have to pick the new Elder, and I’m thinking it should be you.”  
“Wait, what?” Liza stared at her friend.  
“Well it would solve all of your problems and it would mean I get to stay in touch with you after I leave.”Ella shrugged grinning.  
“You're not wrong but if the western chapter goes up in flames I blame you.”  
“Duly noted, welcome aboard Elder Liza.”

 

10 years later   
After years of travel Ella could finally see her home. She walked along the familiar streets spotting a recognizable figure ahead of her.  
“Paladin Vargas.” She called jumping over a nearby rubble pile to greet her old friend.  
“Ella?” The Paladin gaped a she ran to greet him, “How?”  
“The Enclaves gun was a ruse I got knocked out and woke up in a slave caravan to the Mohave. I ended up helping the new western chapter Elder. I would have gotten here faster but one of the undetonated nukes on the highway passage blew up and I had to circumnavigate a fallout zone, that's why I couldn't send word of my survival. “ She blurted out hurriedly pulling him into a hug.   
“Ella by the steel.” He laughed returning her hug.  
“Vargas what happened, where's Sarah, how is Elder Lyons and little Arthur. What happened to Ingram last I saw she was down.” Vargas’ face fell as he released her.  
“Elder Lyons died shortly after you “died” out of grief, Sarah was killed a few years later fighting the outcast Brotherhood members, they grew violent after your death. Ingram lived but lost her legs she's over in the Commonwealth with Elder Maxson. I’m sorry.”   
Ella felt the world around her grow cold as her life shattered around her. She sat down heavily putting her head in her hands, her dreams of finally seeing Sarah again breaking to little pieces.  
“I’m so sorry.” Vargas repeated stooping down to pull her back into a hug.

 

Roshanna was angry at her boyfriend which wasn’t anything new. The new recruits fled from her path as she stormed up to the flight deck her power armor clanging on the metal of the large airship, the Prydwen.   
“Arthur Roger Maxson explain yourself.” She said dangerously her irish accent thick in her anger.  
“Nora, what's wrong?” Elder Arthur Maxson turned looking to the fiery redhead that towered over him in her suit of armour   
“Whats wrong is the fact that you authorized a raid on the Somersville settlement wiping out half of their crops,” She hissed advancing on him.  
“What, I never authorized anything like that, who lead that raid?”  
“Rhys.” She spat out  
“Of course, I’ll have him demoted and reprimanded, i’ll also reimburse the Minutemen for all the damages.” Maxson sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.  
“I’m sorry,” The anger faded from Roshanna’s posture as she relaxed.  
“It’s alright Nora.” He reassured   
“Elder Maxson there's a very irate woman in the conference room who demanding to see you, she says she knows you sir.” A Knight came into the room saluting. Maxson shrugged at the look Roshanna gave him as he dismissed the Knight with a gesture. The couple walked up to the large conference room where a dark haired woman paced irritatedly.  
“Ella?” Maxson paused in the doorway breathing out the name. The woman turned.  
“Arthur Roger Maxson, I travel three months to find you and when I finally do track you down I hear rumors that you are like those egotistical, overzealous, idiots that make up the structure of the Brotherhood. We raised you better than that!” Maxson ignored her anger pulling her into a hug quelling her lecture.   
“Is this the Ella you told me about?” Roshanna asked as he let the other woman go.   
“Yes, Ella this is my girlfriend Sentinel Roshanna Ó Ceallaigh, Nora this is my motherly older sister figure Sentinel Ella Lyons.” Ella looked Roshanna up and down for a long moment before smiling.  
“I like her.”  
“Anyone who can use Arthur's full name is a friend of mine.” The two laughed as the door burst open letting in Ingram who was in her modified Powerarmour frame that allowed her to walk around.   
“It really is you!” She nearly tackled Ella before realizing that she was encased in a ton of metal, slowing to a stop. Ella laughed launching herself onto her best friend ignoring the metal frame around her. “How?”   
“It’s a long story so sit down and buckle up.” Ella made them all sit down as she told the story of the last ten years.

Ella stood on the highest point of the Prydwen looking out over the Commonwealth.  
“You would be proud of him Sarah, I know I am.” She sighed watching her breath mist out in front of her in the cold night air. “At first I feared he had turned out like all those other idiots we tried to keep him away from but he isn’t, not with that woman of his, Roshanna at his side. They remind me so much of us that it hurts.” She stared up at the stars. “I just wish you were here, I wish I had made it home faster, I want to tell you I love you one more time.” Tears welled in her eyes as her voice broke. “I love you, I miss you, I never told you that enough, I took our time together for granted, and I’m sorry. Goodbye my love.” She turned away blinking away the tears going to join her refound little family saying goodby to her beloved wife one final time.


End file.
